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5

Glossy Ibis

(Plegadis falcinellus)
Alternative name: "Black Curlew"
Size: 50-54 cm
Weight: 485-970 g

Taxonomy, classification

See Glossy Ibis at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat

 (for details refer to a field guide)

Glossy Ibises are found over most of the Australian continent including Tasmania, with the exception of the most arid parts of the interior of the continent, i.e. the easternmost part of WA, the western half of SA and the south-eastern corner of the NT. In other parts of the semi-arid interior and the western half of WA they are present only when there is sufficient surface water, normally after major rainfall events.

Glossy Ibises are usually found in various types of freshwater wetlands and grassland, including flooded grassland.

Sightings

Glossy Ibises are less common in the Narrabri area than other ibises. A group of five birds was seen by us after rainfall in late October 2007, in a floodway in Narrabri West. Next a single bird was seen at Narrabri Lake in November 2011.

A pair of birds was also observed at Macquarie Marshes Nature Reserve in April 2011.

A small number of Glossy Ibises was seen by us in a lagoon at Carole Creek, 15 km north-west of Moree, NSW, in April 2012. The contributions to these observations by C. Hayne and A. Lines are most gratefully acknowledged.

Also seen by us in December 2009 in Oman.

Photos

Additional information

More photos were obtained by us in Oman.

Lateral view of a Glossy Ibis in brilliant sunshine (photo courtesy of C. Hayne)

Lateral view of a Glossy Ibis (the white spots are leaves in front of the bird, not part of its plumage)

Dorsal view of a Glossy Ibis

Two Glossy Ibises foraging in a semi-permanent mudflat

Glossy Ibises foraging in a wet floodway; the glossy sheen of their wing feathers is visible, even from a distance

Against the sunlight they can appear very dark

This comparison with a Pacific Black Duck shows that Glossy Ibises are quite small

Food

Ibises feed on small animals, from insects to leeches, moluscs, mussles and crustaceans, that they pull out of mud or soft soil.

These pages are largely based on our own observations. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.